


Breaking Richard Grayson

by Moonfire14



Category: Young Justice (Cartoon)
Genre: Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst with a Happy Ending, Bisexual Dick Grayson, Dick Grayson Needs a Hug, Dream Sex, F/M, Hand Jobs, Hurt Dick Grayson, Jason Todd is the Red Hooded Ninja (Young Justice), M/M, Multi, Not Actually Unrequited Love, Not Season/Series 03 Compliant, Past Artemis Crock/Wally West, Wally West is Alive
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-05
Updated: 2021-03-12
Packaged: 2021-03-17 09:33:46
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 15,676
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29223258
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Moonfire14/pseuds/Moonfire14
Summary: It’s been almost a year since Wally died that day in the Arctic and he’s left behind a hole in the lives of everyone who's ever loved him. Slowly but surely they are healing, moving on with living, but Dick feels like he’s breaking apart. He lost his whole world that day and nothing feels right anymore but more than anything he doesn’t know why he’s the only one who seems to care anymore. Barry, Bart, and even Artemis were so quick to accept it and it fuels him. Dick will bring Wally home on his own if he has to. But just how far is he willing to go to achieve that? How many lives is he willing to ruin?(Update: I changed the title from The Liberation of Wallace West because I just wasn't happy with the title and as I write more, the story focuses more on Dick's issues than bringing Wally back so it seemed only right to change the title.)
Relationships: Artemis Crock/Wally West, Dick Grayson/Wally West
Kudos: 61





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I totally didn't intend to write this but I was rewatching season one of Young Justice and suddenly I was five thousand words into this fic so I hope you guys like it. Next chapter will be up next Friday.

**Wayne Manor**

**October 7, 12:47 EDT**

**Nine Years Before**

“Man are you serious?! You’re Bruce Wayne’s kid?!, You’reDickGrayson?” Wally’s only been standing on the lawn of Wayne manor for two minutes but his mouth is already running almost too fast to understand. He bounces forward, vibrating with poorly contained energy. Dick smirks and slides his sunglasses and phone into his jean pocket. This was everything he’d expected when he’d asked Bruce if he could reveal his identity to his friend and occasional fighting partner of nearly a year. Even down to the stupid grin Wally has.

“Wait!,” The freckled boy spins around so fast that Dick worries if speedsters can get whiplash and grabs Dick by his thin shoulders, eyes bright. “Does this mean that Bruce Wayne is Batman? Bruce Wayne?!”

“What do you think Kid Idiot?,” Dick brushes away the thirteen year old’s hands and elbows him playfully in the side before he takes off running towards the side of the manor. His grappling hook is already out of its place on the utility belt hidden away in his jacket before Wally’s rushing by, nearly knocking Dick on his ass. He’s already on the rooftop before the younger boy even reaches the wall.

From the rooftop of Wayne Manor, they can see nearly all of Gotham stretched out below them in the bright afternoon light. From here it almost seems like the whole world is theirs for the taking. The boys step to the edge, arms thrown out to catch the crisp breeze. The feeling of standing at the edge of the roof three stories from the ground with nothing to catch him if he falls is intoxicating but achingly familiar to what it had felt like to be on a trapeze.

“Do you ever wonder what it would be like to fly?” Dick asks as soon as his heart is no longer punching his ribcage.

“Huh?” Wally makes a dazed and confused noise as he turns to face his friend. “I mean yeah but I’m not Superman. Flying is not in my powerset.”

“But do you want to?” Dick loops his grappling wire around the nearest chimney and holds out his hand. Wally raises his eyebrows but grins as he lets Dick pull him to stand by his side. “This will be easier if you hop on my back. And hold on tight.”

A loud whoop is the only warning Dick gives Wally before he’s jumping with him. The taller boy just manages to get his knees tucked against Dick’s sides and wrap his arms tight around his neck. The wind tugs at their hair and steals their breath as they fall, the ground rushing up to meet them before the line catches them. They soar, weightless and free. Dick hears a soft gasp in his ear before Wally’s loosening up and tilting his head into the rush. For what feels like an hour but is closer to just a couple of minutes, they are as close as they will ever get to flying. They turn the corner to the backyard and the bricks skim just inches from their sides and Wally jerks away, tightening his hold and not letting go until they are back where they started.

“Holy....crap!” The speedster breathes, cheeks flushed, eyes sparkling, and breathes heavy. “Is that what it feels like everytime?”

“Every single time,” Dick smiles as he watches his friend bounce up and down on his toes with that wide-eyed enthusiasm and high off the adrenaline. Something flutters deep in his chest and for a second he almost thinks he’s going to be sick from the strange feeling before Wally grabs him by the collar and pulls him to his feet.

“We’re so doing that again but first, piggyback me dude. I’m going to return the favor and show you what it’s like to run faster than the speed of sound.”

“You can’t do that,” Dick huffs but leaps up onto Wally’s skinny back and locks his arms around his shoulders.

“You can be the judge of that,” He can hear the grin in Wally’s voice as he fishes out his goggles. “Keep your eyes closed. Trust me you don’t want bugs in them at that speed.”

And then they were off.

**Blüdhaven**

**June 10th, 02:14 EDT**

**Present Day**

Dick jerks awake, disoriented and gasping. For a second he feels like he’s back there, clinging to Wally’s back as the world rushes by before he can get his bearings. The rough bricks of his apartment building’s roof dig into his spine, making the various injuries littering his body ache even more. His head spins and he groans, rolling on his side to grab at one of the few beer bottles that have even a swallow left and downs it.

He jerks when his phone buzzes in his back pocket. He manages to fish it out without dropping it, a feat in his current state, and squints at the screen. It’s mostly old messages from the team, messages he refuses to look at. He doesn’t want to hear their concern or worse their pity.

**Kaldur (5)**

**Supesboy (3)**

**Miz Mars (14)**

**Arty (1)**

**Timmers (1 Multimedia Message)**

The picture from Tim is of Bruce sitting at the batcave computer with his cowl off and tiny baby Mary in his lap. She’s dressed in a pink bat themed onesie courtesy of Babs and a small pink bow nestled in her dark dusting of hair. Dick feels a pang in his chest both of love for his family and of guilt for his daughter. He hasn’t been a very good father to her, probably hadn’t looked at her twice since her birth. He should have been more careful, but here she was, another accidental tragedy in his self-destructive spiral.

There’s a clatter behind him and he rolls over, reaching for one of his escrima sticks but he finds nothing there. He’d left them inside and left himself defenseless. Dick was getting sloppy, taking risks that should have never existed in the first place. However, the source of the noise is just Artemis, one thin pale eyebrow arched as she walks towards him. She picks up one of the many empty beer bottles and wrinkles her nose.

“I should have known I would have to hunt you down before you would talk to any of us.” Artemis says as she settles down by his side, kicking away more empty bottles.

“I said I was leaving the team. I meant it.” Dick says as he slumps back down. He shouldn’t be part of a team he’d founded with his best friend after his actions had gotten him killed. Hell he doesn’t even think the team should even care about him right now. He was the reason Wally was dead.

“It’s been almost a year Dick,” She wraps her arms around her knees and stares out at the stars over Blüdhaven. “I miss him too.”

Dick sits in silence, not looking at her and hoping she’d either leave him to wallow or say something else so he doesn’t have to. Artemis however seems content to just sit next to him, seemingly lost in thought. He cracks open another beer bottle and passes it to her before finally saying. “Do you remember when he tried to impress M’gann with that cake?”

“Of course! The idiot had broken his leg a week before and couldn’t stay still any longer. I’m pretty sure there was still batter stuck in the vents until..” Artemis trails off, not needing to say what they both know they did, but laughs under her breath and grimaces through a swig of beer. Not her poison of choice he knows. “What about that time he nearly burned his eyebrows off?”

“Hey I told him it was a bad idea but he insisted that he needed rocket boots.” Dick grinned, feeling lighter since he has in months. He’d missed her if he was being honest. He missed them all but he didn’t deserve them. She elbows him and they both fall back, laying shoulder to shoulder as they exchange more stories about Wally and all the stupid shit he’d gotten up to especially in his later teenage years. The words that he’d left unspoken bubble in Dick’s gut and when Artemis goes to take another drink, he can’t hold it in any longer.

“I loved him. I loved him longer than I knew what the word meant.” Dick can’t look at her and instead stares resolutely up at the starry night sky. Artemis says nothing, just shifts against his side and presses more of her warm weight against him. The silence lingers on until she curls her fingers around his.

“I know,” Her voice is soft in a way it never was when she was younger. Wally had a way of changing everyone around him to be better people, to see the world better and Artemis was no exception. “He- I think he loved you too. I saw it in his eyes when he thought I wasn’t looking.”

Dick releases a shaky breath and blinks away the wetness gathering in his lashes but she’s not done. “He’d want us to move on… and you have Mary now. She needs her dad.”

Dick still can’t speak because he knows he’ll choke on his own words and she just holds his hand silently until it seems like she needs to get something off her chest too.

“I- I moved in with Will. I want to give Lian the life I never had and I couldn't do that living so far away. You’re welcome anytime. Even if you just need to talk.”

“I-I-I’m not ready,” Dick chokes out as the tears finally well over and he’s sobbing.

“I know Dick. I know.” Artemis wraps him up in a hug, curling around him and making him feel closer to home then he has since Wally.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I finished editing the next chapter early so I decided to post this chapter early :) I'll admit action scenes are not my forte because I'm much more a character writer but I did my best

**Blüdhaven**

**June 10th, 12:32 EDT**

Dick leans over the countertop that separates his living room from the kitchen and groans into his piping hot mug of coffee. Artemis had thoughtfully left a fresh pot when she had left sometime between him passing out on the roof and waking up with morning on his couch and he was grateful even if he knew the gesture was more a subtle way of her telling him to get his shit together. He knows he’s spiraling, running himself ragged by getting into fights he can’t win, fucking people he would never have normally looked twice at, and drowning his sorrows at the bottom of many bottles. But he also knows that stopping would mean acknowledging the distinctly Wally-shaped hole in his life, in his heart. So instead he turns that into anger. Anger at the world. Anger at Wally. Anger at himself and anger at Artemis.

She’s giving up on him. She’s barely even looked for a way to save him, to bring him back and she’s already given up, sold their apartment and moved in with her brother-in-law. Rage simmers under his skin. He wants to scream, wants to punch her, wants to rewind time to push her ill-given affection away and curse her but he can’t. He can’t because he understands. She’s doing what’s best for her and living. Artemis is moving on… but Dick can’t.

His mental tirad is cut off by the blaring of his phone from where it sits on the coffee table and he grits his teeth. The sound is like a jackhammer in Dick’s skull and he scoops it up, answering the phone without even a glance at the caller ID just to stop the noise. Luckily it’s just Tim.

“ _Are you sober this time?”_

“Yes,” Dick frowns and walks over to his floor to ceiling windows. He stares out at the thin pre-lunch traffic and wishes he wasn’t. “What is this about? Is Mary okay?”

 _“Mary is fine. She’s actually down for a nap right now.”_ He hears Tim shifting around before the sharp clacking of computer keys before his younger brother says anything. _“I’m actually calling because of our last ...the research into the reach… didn’t give us anything. I’m sorry Dick.”_

“Damnit,” Dick growls and digs his fingernails into his palm to resist the urge to punch his wall.

 _“You’re not going to…?”_ Tim trailed off, not needing to say more. They both know the lengths that Dick has considered going to especially with their options dwindling in front of Dick’s eyes.

“It might be our only choice,” Dick rubs at his eyes, feeling like he’s losing control of everything.

_“But the al Ghuls, Dick?!” What are you going to do if they can’t bring him back? They could just use you and lead y-”_

“I know Tim!,” Dick snaps back before reeling in his anger again and taking in a deep breath.”I know what I would be risking. I’m not even sure I’m going to. I’ll let you know when I make a decision. Just don’t tell Bruce. Please.”

_“Okay… just stay safe. We’re all worried about you, you know.”_

Dick doesn’t respond and just hangs up on his adopted brother because he just doesn’t want to hear it. He chugs his bitterness down with the rest of his coffee.

In his bedroom, he checks on the files him, Tim and Babs have managed to collect into the Reach and just what happened to Wally which is next to nothing. Everything they’d tried had led them to a dead end. Hell they don’t even know what actually killed him, just where and why.

Staring at those empty files, Dick knows exactly what he’s going to do. Artemis may be able to move on and pick up the pieces of her life but emotional stability and good coping mechanisms are not bat family traits so Dick Grayson is going to sneak onto Infinity Island. If anyone knows about coming back from the dead, it’s Ra’s al Ghul and the League of Shadows. 

However he’s going to have to do this alone. Tim was already one incident away from spilling everything to Bruce who would shut this all down faster than Dick could blink, Babs would kick his ass for even considering it, Artemis had already made her stance clear, and Dick’s too out of touch with the rest of the team to consider asking them. He was truly alone for the first time in a long time.

**Infinity Island**

**June 10th, 11:25 ECT**

Nightwing makes his move in the dead of night, the only way he’s going to be able to get into the compound, so it’s nearly midnight before he stops his boat ten yards away from the darkened, quiet shore. His hands shake and his head is pounding. He aches for a drink but he needs his head clear for the first time in months because unlike the ruffians of Gotham and Blüdhaven, the highly trained assassins of the League aren’t going to tuck their tails and run. He takes a deep breath to stabilize himself before diving into the chilled waters.

The island is a foreboding splotch of ink against the sky as Nightwing cuts his way through the black waves to the western shoreline. According to the information he’d stolen from Bruce’s files, there are at least three guards patrolling this area at any time but the plant life is densest here, making for the best cover when he slinks from the icy sea.

A guard, armed with two different swords and at least two knives that Nightwing can see, pauses by the cluster of undergrowth where he’s crouched. He freezes, holding his breath and hoping he won’t have to blow his cover just yet. The man slices through the bushes by Nightwing’s side, nicking his shoulder and he bites into his bottom lip. Seemingly satisfied, the guard moves on and he lets out a sharp hiss. Luckily, it’s not a deep cut, barely bleeding since his thicked shoulder armor protected it but it’s long and thin and the salt water still clinging to his skin burns and stings.

He wipes the blood off with one gloved thumb before pulling up the schematics of the main compound on his wrist computer. The map he’d pulled from the batcave’s database is seemingly innocuous at first glance but there’s a strange empty space near the lowest level and appears to only be accessible through the sewers.

He grins, wicked and mischievous.

**Infinity Island**

**June 11th, 01:00 ECT**

The sewer grate slides to the side with barely a creak that makes Nightwing grit his teeth, wary of the guards patrolling the compound wall above him but neither of them cast a single glance at him. Below him there’s a solid and wide brick walkway lining the putrid water, designed like the rest of the compound: easy to defend, easy to patrol. The air that rushes up to meet him as he drops down is stale and musty but far from the worst sewer he’s slopped through. He wrinkles his nose against the stench and follows the nearest wall, pressing his back into the damp and mossy bricks, deeper and deeper into the earth.

The further he goes, the quieter it seems to get and the worse the stench gets, assaulting his nose and forcing him to cover his face to avoid gagging. The very air seems to press in around him, making him feel like the walls are going to shut him away but the tunnels themselves are very empty. His skin crawls with unseen eyes tracking him, making his hair stand on end. Nothing feels right and this all feels a little too easy when he finds the final grate and levels it open.

The empty space on the schematics is a very large underground cavern surrounding a bright green pit of swirling water that seems to move with a mind of its own. It lights up the whole space, pulling him to it like a magnet. He knows what it has to be, has read about the existence of places like this. A Lazarus pit. The answer for everything he’s been looking for is staring him in the face. All he would need is a small piece of Wally, just a tiny bit of his DNA and they could bring him back. He drops to his knees in awe, reaching out one hand to touch the gentle waves, when pain blossoms behind his eyes.

**Infinity Island**

**June 11th, 05:54 ECT**

The room where Dick comes to is dark, lit only by the faint light filtering in through a single barred window, and almost completely barren. Dick feels sick, his head spinning and aching, and he’s tied to the only chair with his upper arms roped to the backing and his hands twisted and bent painfully and wrists zip tied together. His gloves and escrima sticks are laying teasingly on the wooden table to his left, just out of reach of his foot.

“Good you’re awake,” A smooth, caramel voice says, clicking it’s tongue and startling Dick. The light from the window catches on a lithe figure leaning in the darkest corner. A woman in a tight black bodysuit unzipped just enough to reveal a tease of her ample cleavage stalks forward, her movements like that of a lioness. When she steps into the light, he can finally make out her features: dark hair that sweeps across her high cheekbones, rich sunkissed skin, and piercing green eyes that narrow dangerously. “We need to talk Dick Grayson.”

Talia al Ghul.

_Fuck._


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I bumped the rating down solely because I realized I wasn't going to have as many fights scene as I originally thought.
> 
> This chapter is once again early because the next chapter just really wrote itself. Also I'm sorry if Talia is out of character at all. I barely know anything about her outside of a couple movies so I tried my best.

**Infinity Island**

**June 11th, 06:00 ECT**

“What do you want with me Talia?” Dick bites out as she walks by him, skimming a well manicured hand over his knee. Nothing she could say would be good for Dick and he knows it, knows she’d play with him like prey if it suited her, but it’s so hard to think with his head spinning and stomach churning. He shakes his head and tries to blink away the forming headache before twisting his wrists and pulling against the zip ties. It pulls at the gash on his shoulder and he has to bite against the burn. The ties dig into the soft inside of his wrists and cuts a raw line but Dick just grits his teeth and pulls again.

“The pit won’t bring your friend back,” Talia’s words make Dick freeze, cutting deeper than any sword could hope to. She laughs then, soft and melodical. “Don’t look so surprised. Why else would  _ Nightwing _ be prowling around in my father’s domain?”

She says the name like it’s a joke, a laugh still lingering on her lips, as she makes her way over to the lone window. This is all just a big joke to her and it stirs rage in the young man.

“The pit can bring anyone back,” Dick grits through his teeth, pulling even harder at the ties as his head spins wildly.

“It only brings back the dead. Your little friend isn’t dead,” She holds up one finger against the words that get caught in his throat, all the questions he wants to ask but not knowing where to even start. “I could help you save him of course but I find myself in need of a favor.”

Of course. The al Ghuls do nothing for free.

“What could you possibly need that I could provide?,” Dick laughs bitterly through the dizziness.

“A former member has taken something that is mine,” Talia says, clenching her fists as she stalks closer. “A treasure that I need returned to me but this traitor was trained by the best of us. Tracking him is far from easy and requires manpower that we cannot currently spare. If anyone else could find him it would be Batman and his brood so it was quite fortunate that you just waltzed in.”

Talia pauses and gives him a smile, fake and saccharine, as she drags the back of her nails over Dick’s cheekbone. “His last known location was Gotham City. Bring my treasure back in one piece and I will give you what you seek.”

Before he can speak, she reels her fist back and slams it into his cheek.

**Mount Justice**

**July 19th, 08:16 EDT**

**_Seven Years Before_ **

Dick huffs as he lifts the last box and upends the contents onto his newly made bed. It’s just a handful of civilian clothes that he needs to pack away in the small dresser against the far wall. He’s not moving into the cave full time, neither is Wally, but having a comfortable place to crash after long missions was essential. The room is still fairly bare but slowly he’s making it more livable: his extra laptop laying on his desk, his backup phone charger laying on his nightstand, a floor lamp to brighten up the small space, and just a couple of comic books that Wally had given him on the lone shelf.

When he’s starting to fold his clothes, the door slides open and he dives for his sunglasses. That had been Bruce’s concession; Dick could stay with the team as long as he kept his identity a secret. But, it’s just Wally who waltzes in and Dick relaxes, dropping the glasses back on his bedside table. The redhead is flushed and grinning, hair mussed and goggles hanging from his neck.

“Dude, you’re not done unpacking yet?” Wally teases as he throws himself down on the bedspread, sending Dick’s socks flying. “Has it sunk in for you yet? Like holy shit we have our own team!”

“Give it a few weeks, Walls,” Dick smiles, warmth blossoming in his chest as he knocks his jean clad knee into Wally’s elbow.

“That won’t be hard if M'gann sticks around cause damnnn,” Wally says wistfully, staring up at the plain ceiling. Dick groans as he stands up to put his clothes away, suddenly wanting to be as far away from the speedster as he can get. At thirteen, he finally understands Wally’s attraction to girls, realizes now that they are pretty and soft and smell nice. M’gann was especially cute and smelled like flowers but hearing Wally talk about girls made his stomach churn like he’s eleven and still grossed out by the idea of attraction.

Wally sits up, resting back on his lean forearms, and watching as Dick moves around the room. “Why do you always react like that? I want to talk about girls with my best bud! I mean do you just not like girls?”

“No, I just…”  _ I just think I also like boys and you don’t _ lingers on the tip of Dick’s tongue before he swallows it down in fear. “I don’t like it, okay?!”

He knows his voice rises way higher than the situation requires as Bruce’s extensive training to control himself and his emotions fly out the window and his cheeks flame. Wally is quiet, seeming to consider his words as he just watches him.

“Look I get it, Rob. You’re jealous.” Wally stands and walks over to where Dick seems rooted to the spot. His heart catches in his throat, stealing away his breath, and he feels too seen. “Not everyone can get as many ladies as me.”

Wally puffs out his chest with a smirk and Dick feels like he can breathe again. He rolls his eyes and leans down to put the last of his jeans away but the speedster is catching his shoulders and pulling him into a side-hug. “You’re small and cute. Ladies love that. Eventually you’ll have them drooling over you.” He grins and pokes Dick’s chest before throwing his arm out as though presenting all the ladies Dick will one day have.

“Until then you have me.” Wally kissed Dick on the cheek, overly wet and playful in a way that makes Dick fake a gag as drool slides down his jaw. He pushes Wally’s face away even as the speedster tries to lick him. Dick chooses to ignore the pounding of his heart against his ribs and the way his cheek burns as though branded and turns the grapple into a headlock that quickly turns into a wrestling match.

**Blüdhaven**

**June 11th, 08:36 EDT**

**_Present Day_ **

With a long drawn out groan, Dick slumps across his kitchen counter as he presses a pack of frozen peas to his purpling cheek and cracks open his first beer in hours. He sighs at the first slide of alcohol down his throat and tips his head back against the granite to watch the rain slide down his living room windows. The more he drinks, the steadier his hands and the clearer his head feels. He’s already aching for another.

His fingers linger over his phone. He knows that this is too big to keep in, too pressing to let sit but he doesn’t know who to call. Talia could be lying to use him to recover her ‘treasure’ and he doesn’t want to drag anyone down with him if it’s not worth it in the end. Could Wally be alive?

The phone rings once, twice, three times before a familiar upbeat voice is picking up to the sound of crashing, clanging and cursing in Spanish.

_ “Hey boss.”  _ Bart greets him with what sounds like a grin.

“You guys okay?,” Dick cringes from the ringing sound of metal bashing against metal

_ “Yeah yeah. Jaime is just cook-”  _ The young speedster is cut off by another loud bout of cursing. After the twins had been born, Bart had decided he was going to move out of Barry’s house so they had room for the babies. It had made the most sense to move in with Jaime who has recently gotten his own apartment to keep his now public identity from effecting and putting his family at risk. It was nice to check in on them even if that wasn’t his goal with the phone call.

“It’s nice to see that you guys are settling in,” Dick can’t help the smile that spreads across his face. He misses his team, the kids he’d watched grow and change. “But I called about a question I need answered and please don’t sugar coat it for me.”

_ “Shoot.” _ He can hear Bart dropping into that more serious, world weary version of himself that he slips into when he thinks other people aren’t paying attention, no longer hiding the scars of a boy whose lived through too much under the smile he puts on.

“Is there any way Wally could be alive?”

There’s a long pause from the other end as though Bart is still processing what he asked, or weighing what he himself is going to say. The weight of the silence is pressing down on Dick, making his skin crawl in a way that makes Dick want to pull his hair out by the roots before the answer finally comes.

_ “I don’t know. He just disappeared, like he faded from reality. I’ve never seen anything like it and all I know is that he didn’t walk away from it that day. Why are you asking this now?” _

“It’s nothing. Just a dumb thought I had. Enjoy your night.” Dick hangs up before Bart can say anything more. He’d gotten his answer. If Bart who was there that night when everything went sideways didn’t know if he was dead or not then Dick couldn’t give up on him.

He dials another number and the recipient picks up on the second ring.

“Tim, I need you to see if you can locate any member of the League of Shadows that have been seen in Gotham in the last two weeks.”


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wooo! I'm pretty sure this chapter is the longest so far and the most fun to write. The next chapter won't be quite as long.

**Metropolis**

**June 15th, 19:36 EDT**

“Are you sure this is the right place this time?” Nightwing mutters into the comm as he shifts his weight from foot to foot where he’s perched on the rooftop. The old warehouse sits quiet and dark below him, nestled in the midst of the downtown area and surrounded by much taller buildings. He can see part of the tinned roof that has been pried open and has left a jagged hole. It’s unlikely that this place has been used in years, making it perfect for someone in hiding.

_ “The other locations were right too. We were just too late.” _ Robin huffs and Nightwing can almost hear the roll of his eyes. This case has been weighing on them both, becoming disheartening after the easy start they’d had. The former League member dresses in a rich red hood with a shiny red face mask and black visor that give him a distinct look. It had been easy to locate him on security footage but every time they got close, he slipped through their fingers: in Gotham, in Blüdhaven, in Star City. He won’t get away here.

Nightwing laughs and it becomes a cackle that cuts through the still Metropolis night. It’s easy to pretend that everything is alright and that the past year hasn’t weighed on him so heavily when there’s a solid goal in front of him, a criminal that needs to be taken down. It’s even easier knowing that taking down this criminal, this red-hooded ninja, will give him Wally back. That thought makes him feel even lighter.

As he watches, something in the old warehouse shifts and he sees a dark figure move across a window. Their target  _ is  _ here.

“I’m going in.”

_ “There’s something off about this. The thermal readings aren’t showing anything.” _

Nightwing is off, ignoring his little brother’s caution, diving from the high rooftop and arching his back to turn it into a graceful flip. He throws out his arm, catching himself with a grappling hook as he lands softly on the warehouse roof. He can hear something moving below him and his heart begins to beat faster. They are so close he can taste it.

_ “Dick, please wait! There’s a b-” _

Nightwing tosses the comm to the tin before sliding through the jagged hole, landing on a high stack of wooden crates. The inside is dark, lit only by the hole in the roof but he can make out more stacks of wooden crates and a pallet of dust covered glass sheets. There’s no sign of any more movement. He drops to the floor and moves through the dark, searching for any sign of human life but the only thing he can hear is the sound of his own pounding heartbeat and quickening breath until he finds the nest.

Squeezed between two large crate stacks is a pile of blankets surrounded by fast food wrappers and empty water bottles. There’s a small lump in the blankets, too small and still to be a living thing, that turns out to be a red face mask and something small and plastic. He brings the latter up to the light.

“A pacifier?”

The only answer he gets back is a piercing beep and a blinking light from another lump. When he moves the covers again he is face to face with a small bomb, clicking down from a minute.

This was all a trap.

**Central City**

**September 18th, 12:42 CDT**

**_Three Years Before_ **

Dick taps his fingers against the formica top of the booth in a nonsense tune. The small diner is mostly empty with only two other patrons: an elderly man sitting at the bar with coffee and a piece of pie and a young woman in a business suit with a cup of iced tea in front of her laptop. He’d long since cleared them as completely normal and harmless, just like the waitress who smiles at him as she refills his coffee.

He thinks he sees pity and annoyance in her eyes but he wouldn’t be surprised. He’s been sitting there alone, waiting for someone for almost an hour and has ordered nothing but coffee. He sighs and checks his phone again. For a speedster, Wally had developed a habit of somehow always being late, especially now that he’s living on his own and has hung up the red and yellow.

As though he could hear Dick’s thoughts, the redhead in question breezes through the door and slides smoothly into the booth with a sheepish smile.

“Sorry I’m late. Arty was trying to get to work but Brucely had swallowed her keys and then threw them up. It was a mess.”

“It’s fine. I haven’t been here long,” Dick lies with a smile, something that’s beginning to feel like a second skin and he blames Bruce and his teachings. He used to think he was better then that but this was an easy and harmless lie. Wally already feels like he’s seeing the team, his friends, less these days and like he’s no longer reliable since he’d made his choice. Not that Dick could blame him. Wally hadn’t wanted to be the next Tula; He didn’t want to live and die in the uniform and he didn’t want Artemis to feel like Kaldur had.

As Wally orders his food from the waitress who puts on a bright smile but seems taken aback by just how much, Dick just watches him, admires how he’s grown. He’s almost twenty now and has grown into his gangly body, shoulders broadening and legs gaining those sleek runner’s muscles that makes Dick weak. His jawline has sharpened and if Dick didn’t know any better he would think that Wally has gained more freckles across the expanse of his face and arms. He’s looking good, but more than anything he looks at ease, like the weight of the world isn’t pressing down on his shoulders, like one singular fuck up won’t end someone’s life. He looks  _ happy. _

He wants Wally to be happy but at the same time it boils his blood because he knows just how much of that is tied with Artemis, has seen the echo of that same ease in her own shoulders, and he wants it to be him instead. Dick wants the cozy life, to be the one who curls in bed with Wally and gets to see him first thing in the morning, disheveled and cheek creased from his pillow. He wants to be the one who takes the redhead apart in all the best ways, mouth and fingers caressing that freckled skin, tracing them like constellations. Dick wants to be the one who breaks him down with just the slide of his mouth, making Wally twist bedsheets in between his fingers as he flushes to his bellybutton so pretty and pink.

“-ick. Hey Dick!” Wally waves his hand in front of the teenager’s face to get his attention.

“Sorry, I just got a little lost in thought.” Dick mutters as he suppresses a blush and looks away, trying to blink away the image of Wally West gasping and begging for him.

“Are you okay?” The speedster asks as he shoves half a pancake stack into his mouth.

_ No. No because I’m in love with you and I’m starting to hate Artemis even though she’s my friend because she gets to have you and I don’t. _

“Yeah. Why wouldn’t I be?”

“You just seem more out of it then usual.”

“I’m just tired,” Dick lies but only partially this time, leaning his elbows against the table, “Now that Jason’s taken up the R, I’m trying to strike out on my own but B doesn’t like it.”

“He’s worried about you and maybe he should be. You’re still a kid Rob and you’ve always worked with a partner if not a team. Can you really work on your own?”

“I’ll be eighteen in a few months. I’m not a kid anymore and you know that. I can make my own decisions and B has already made it clear why he thinks I’m making a mistake. If he can’t convince me, why do you think you can?” Dick bites the words out, irrational anger bubbling up in his gut. He’d thought that Wally would have backed him up but here but instead he's tossing back Bruce’s words back in his face. Wally doesn’t answer at first, just lacing his fingers together and watching Dick.

“Because I’m your best friend. I know you Dick.”

With those simple words, Dick feels all his walls come crashing down and his anger dissipates. It’s just Wally’s emerald eyes and an old-fashioned red diner booth to ground him in that moment. It sounds too much like a plea when he speaks again. “Wally… please. I need to do this. I need to know who I am without him.”

Wally nods before picking up his fork again. “So what’s the name of Gotham’s newest hero.”

“I’m not sure yet but I’m not staying in Gotham. It’s already got Batman and Robin. I need as clean of a slate as I can get and Blüdhaven needs a hero.”

Wally furrows his eyebrows. “Isn’t Blüdhaven technically part of Gotham?”

“Technically but I’m already fighting hard enough to get this far. I’ll take what I can get.”

Wally nods again and smiles at him. For the first time in the past month, Dick actually feels like he might be doing the right thing instead of what he feels like he has to do. He finds himself smiling back.

“Speaking of big changes, Artemis finally agreed to move in.”

Wally says it with a lovestruck grin but it makes Dick’s heart plummet and his stomach churn. He knows he’d already lost Wally, lost any chance he had of them being more than friends but there was a difference in knowing it and hearing it with such finality.

But Dick just smiles brighter as his heart shatters.

**Metropolis**

**June 15th, 19:54 EDT**

**_Present Day_ **

In his blind scramble to get to safety, Nightwing scrapes his knee open on the jagged roof, the tin edges catching on his foot a second before he’s flying. He can’t feel anything, can’t see anything, can’t hear anything for disorienting minutes that seem to draw into hours. He knows he dry heaves onto concrete but feels nothing. All he can hear is shrill ringing and everything around him is spinning. What little he can see is doubled and looks a lot like blood splattered under him.

Through the dark spots, Nightwing spots the ninja. His face is bare under the hood and he’s carrying a tiny bundle on his back. Nightwing groans, screaming through the pain as he tries to crawl forward, tries to reach for the young man but his blood-splattered hand flops limply to the concrete as everything fades away. All he’s left with is the ninja’s face burned behind his eyelids.

It is the face of Jason Todd.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The next two chapters are what I'm calling "Dick finally gets help" so look forward to angst and alcohol withdrawal symptoms! Comments are very appreciated!


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dick finally begins the healing process... unwillingly

**Wayne Manor**

**June 16th,13:01 EDT**

It is Jason but it couldn’t be. Dick had just seen his brother five hours before but he was looking at the truth. Jason Todd is dead, his body broken and laying in a pool of his own congealing blood as the Joker laughs. Even as the handcuffs are being clapped around his wrists, the clown prince is laughing, his purple suit slicked with the blood of a fifteen year old who had just been the means to an end. All Dick can see is those lifeless pale eyes that follow him, accuse him of letting him go on this mission, accuse him of leaving. Everywhere he turns, he sees those eyes, appearing out of walls and surrounding him as everything, the Joker, the cops, Batman, and even the warehouse, fades away to blackness. It’s just him surrounded by more and more accusing clouded eyes. And then Jason blinks.

“Jay!,” Dick gasps, rocketing upward before he’s screaming, body contorting in pain. Everything hurts, he’s shaking, his head is spinning and he doesn’t know which is up or down. All he knows is white hot pain and fear. It chokes him.

There’s a hand on his shoulder then, grounding him as he hears Tim’s voice. “Whoa! Calm down! You’re home, in the manor. We’ve got you.”

As the nightmare-fueled adrenaline fades, Dick can finally think clearly and begin to take stock of his injuries and surroundings. At least five of his ribs are bruised, maybe broken, his face and palms are stinging from being scraped along concrete, the gash on his shoulder had been torn open again, and his ears feel like someone is driving an ice pick into them, likely because of a ruptured eardrum. It’s not the worst he’s ever had it but it’s bad, almost overwhelming. He can’t imagine how many painkillers Alfred has him on for him to even be conscious right now, much less coherent.

Through blurry and doubling vision, Dick manages to make out some of the room. From the dark blue curtains, the few scattered knickknacks, the solitary colorful poster and the vast amount of pillows piled up under his head, he recognizes his old room. Tim sighs as he settles back into the desk chair that had been pulled up to the end of the bed and buries his head in his hands, not speaking and barely moving.

“Did we get him?” Dick manages to say through his dry and cracked lips.

“No. He got away before we found you.” Tim says as he slumps further into the chair. All the fight has left him and for the first time in a long time, Dick is struck with the fact that Tim is just a teenager, just sixteen years old and already world weary. They’ve all been through too much. “I couldn’t even catch him on CCTV footage. He was just gone.”

Dick sighs softly, turning his head to watch the afternoon sun filtering through the large windows facing the garden. Outside he can see Alfred tending to the hedges and he smiles even though it stings and pulls at his lips. He’s been away too long and he feels almost normal again even if his body feels like he went through a woodchipper.

“Before he gets here, you should know that Bruce knows what’s been going on. I had to tell him when I called for help.”

“No,” Dick croaks, panic rushing through him because he knows that Bruce won’t want this to continue. He already thinks that Dick is being reckless as Nightwing but he’s too close now. Bruce can’t take him out of the game just yet. “The assassin. He’s Jason. It was Jason, Tim. I saw him. We have to-”

“You’re not doing anything,” Bruce’s strong voice says as he walks in. He’s dressed in civvies, a simple white button up and black slacks, with Mary sleeping in the crock of his arm. Her pudgy fingers are twisted in his shirt as she makes sleepy burbles. Tim rises up, arms reaching out as though to take her but Bruce just shakes him off and says, “Leave us, Tim.”

The boy looks back at Dick, his face ghostly pale and hands shaking before he swallows heavily and leaves the room. Bruce settles into the desk chair, making sure not to jostle the sleeping baby too much.

“You are not going to do that again,” Bruce says, leaving no room for question behind his words. “I thought you just needed time but it’s been almost a year and now your actions could have put Tim at risk. You could have died. This ends here.”

Bruce rises to his feet, making his way over to a new bassinet that Dick had not noticed when he’d first scanned the room and laying Mary down in it. He covered her with a small blue blanket. “Once you can stand, she’s your responsibility until then Tim and Alfred will check on her.”

And then he was gone and Dick was left alone with his daughter for the first time since she’d been born. Her bottom lip is hanging open as she curls her fist sleepily under her chin. Dick feels a pang in his chest, deep and painful, and it drives tears to his eyes. Dick buries his face into the side of the pillow as tears trace their way down his cheeks. He fucked up. He fucked up with Mary. He fucked up with the mission and more than anything he fucked up his relationships. Dick could finally admit it in that moment that something was wrong, something horrible was driving him and messing with his head.

He needs help. He needs his family but he wants Wally.

**Wayne Manor**

**June 18th, 02:34 EDT**

As Dick first wakes, he thinks Mary is crying, wanting an early bottle but when his sleep fog begins to clear, he realizes she is still sleeping soundly. He scans the room, wanting to find just what had woken him from his sleep and when he sees it, he stops breathing. There’s the dark figure of a tall but slim man standing over Mary’s crib, his hand brushing over her dark curls.

Dick tries to leap up, to face down the strange man but he can’t move. His limbs are like lead, nailed to the bed and refusing to budge. He can’t even yell for Bruce, Tim or even Alfred because his mouth refuses to produce any noise. He’s trapped here with a stranger touching his daughter.

The figure chuckles then, a familiar noise that Dick thought he would never hear again, and Wally steps into the moonlight. He’s in the old kid flash costume, cowl down, goggles resting in his mess of orange curls, and he’s smiling. At second glance, something’s wrong. It’s like he’s there but not. Dick can see the wall through his torso. This can’t be real but he’s here, in his bedroom. He’s here and Dick can’t even speak.

From the shadows by the door, another figure approaches, stepping past Wally. Clouded dead blue eyes stare back at the acrobat as Jason moves to stand by his side. His ripped Robin costume is covered in blood and it drips from his busted lip onto the bedspread. Dick still can’t _move._

“It’s your fault,” Jason says, spitting blood with his every word that lands sticky and warm on Dick’s cheek.

“I should have been at home. I told you I didn’t want to die as Kid Flash.” Wally moves to the other side of the bed, within reach, his voice distorted and haunting.

“I was a kid. Bruce would have never let me go on that mission.” Jason’s voice drops, distorting like Wally’s.

“I could be married. Hell I could have kids by now Dick.”

“You didn’t even manage to catch the Joker. He got away with it”

“You just couldn’t be happy for me. You hated Artemis. You still hate her.”

Dick screams in silent grief, wanting to curl in on himself but all he can do is squeeze his eyes shut against the haunted, eerie voices that hurl insult after insult at him. When he opens his eyes, the phantoms are gone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The next chapter is longer than this one but be prepared, the angst isn't over... of course it isn't over :P
> 
> Comments appreciated as always!


	6. Chapter 6

**Wayne Manor**

**June 19th, 09:13**

The early morning sun casts long shadows through the hallways, following him as he’d led towards the staircases by Mary’s piercing cries. They dance just outside his vision, taking shape when he isn’t looking. Jason’s dead eyes narrow from a darkened doorway. Tula’s soft voice carries from a branching hallway that’s empty when he turns his head. The phantom of Wally West hangs just outside his vision but Dick can still feel the weight of his grin, once happy and warm, now cold and oppressive against the back of his neck.

The hallways are endless, paths that lead nowhere and everywhere at the same time but he can’t escape. No matter what turn he takes, he finds himself in the same place retracing the same steps. Dick passes by the eyes again, hears Tula’s singing with every hallway he passes, all the while taunted by a ghost of a memory he can’t see. His skin crawls as prickles as he picks up the pace, hoping, wanting to outrun them.

Mary screams again, he cries feeling like an ice pick in Dick’s ears and he curls in on himself, hands clapped over his ears. A bloody face appears from another doorway and the once beautiful singing turns to screams. He can’t breathe. He can’t escape.  _ He can’t breathe. _

Something hits the floor with a wet plasticky thump and Dick jumps, spinning around. Tim smiles sheepishly as he scoops up a bottle of milk from the rug and hands it back to Mary.

“Are you okay? You’ve been standing there for the past ten minutes and it looked like you were about to have a panic attack.” Tim’s face is soft, worrying as he looks Dick up and down as though he’ll find the answers written on his skin. Dick shakes his head and plasters on a smile.

“I’m fine. I just got lost in thought again. Would you mind putting her down for a nap?”

Dick leaves his little brother standing in the hallway as he finally makes his way down the stairs and pretends he doesn’t see the phantoms sinking back into the shadows. He knows they’ll be back.

**Wayne Manor**

**June 20th, 15:37 EDT**

Dick dry heaves into the sink but the look of the warmed milk sloshing around in the baby bottle churns his stomach and he heaves again. He hasn’t been able to stomach anything in a couple days so he’s given up. Every fiber of his being aches for a drink to finally ease his pains but Bruce is sticking to his guns and forcing Dick to sober up. He even locked him out of the family stock and threatened Tim’s coffee privileges if he let Dick so much as look at a beer bottle. It would almost be amusing if Dick didn’t feel like he was ripping apart at the seams.

Mary, sitting in her high chair by the kitchen island, scrunches up her face and begins to sob. Large tears roll down her reddened cheeks as she reaches for the bottle clutched in his hand.

“Shhh,” Dick soothes as he wipes his dry mouth on the back of his hand before lifting her into his arms. She snuggles into his side to greedily swallow down the offered bottle with a happy burble as he hefts himself onto the island countertop. Her small hands bump his aside and he can’t help but smile, nuzzling the top of her head with his nose. With Bruce and Tim being gone on patrol or being otherwise indisposed, he’s had plenty of him with Mary and while his attachment to her is still strained at best, it’s hard not to love her. She’s intelligent, happy, and so stubborn as she tries her best to wiggle and babble her way right into his heart. He’s just not sure if he’s ready to accept her in just yet.

He kisses her forehead as Alfred and Tim walk in. Dick grins, looking over his shoulder to send a wink Tim’s way. “Hey Timmy, get me a beer?”

Tim rolls his eyes and stalks over to the coffee maker as Alfred shakes his head. Dick chuckles and hops down from the island to elbow his younger brother’s shoulder but as soon as his feet touch the tile they are buckling. His world tilts as black spots dance in front of his vision. He hears a yell but can’t tell whose it is as he drops.

**Wayne Manor**

**June 20th, 15:51 EDT**

“Ughhhhh,” Dick groans as he comes to. He’s been propped up against the wooden island counters as Alfred shines a pen light into his eyes. Tim is standing back with a thankfully unharmed Mary clutched in his arms and worry written across his face. Dick blinks against the light and pushes at Alfred’s arm. “I’m fine. I’ve taken much worse than that.”

“Be that as it may Master Richard, you are not fine.” Alfred grabs his arm to help him into one of the kitchen chairs and pulls up another for himself. He doesn’t say anything more, just laces his fingers together in his lap as Tim shifts his weight from from foot to foot behind him.

Dick sighs and leans forward to brace his elbows on his knees and rub at his temples to relieve the pressure behind his eyes. “I’ve been having withdrawal symptoms since I woke up from the blast but I’m fine. I’m handling it.”

Neither of them speak, just watching and waiting for Dick to speak again and he curses them under his breath. He knows they won’t let him away so easily this time.

“The worst is the hallucinations… I… I keep seeing them. Everyone I’ve failed, everyone that I’ve gotten killed. Jason, Tula… Wally. They’re all dead and it’s my fault.”

Dick’s stomach lurches again and he scrambles to the sink. Stomach acid burns his throat as he heaves again and again as Alfred’s steady hand rubs between his shoulder blades and when he is done, the older man hands him a napkin.

“Master Richard, I believe it might be beneficial to get to the root of this issue. I will talk to Master Bruce about inviting Ms. Lance to visit,” The butler says as he turns on his heel and leaves the kitchen. Dick groans and drops his head to the steel of the sink. He’d felt like he’d been making progress. Everything still felt wrong, like there’s a hole in his life that nothing has been able to fill and maybe sometimes he cries because Wally would have loved Mary, would have spoiled her and been there to celebrate her every milestone like a good uncle. But he’d been doing better. Or at least he’d thought.

“I know there’s a lot going on but I need to talk to you.”

Dick lifts his head up and forces a weak smile. “Shoot,” he says with more confidence then he has as he leans heavily into the counter. He’s glad for the support when Tim speaks again.

“I found Jason.”

The words shake Dick to his very core. In the past week, he’d managed to convince himself that the face he’d seen behind the hood had just been another hallucination but if Tim had found him...

“He’s in Central City and he hasn’t moved yet. He likely thinks you’re dead so we’d have the upper hand. We can get him.”

Dick wishes he could say he hesitated and gave a second thought to the life he’s trying to build.

“Let’s go tonight.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wooo these are going a lot more smoothly than I thought! The next chapter is nearly 2,000 words so look forward to that!
> 
> Comments are always appreciated!


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know that the portrayal of Jason in this chapter is not how he's usually portrayed but I'm going for a younger and less experienced Jason who is being chased by the whole League of Shadows/Assassins so yeah I stand by my choices.

**Central City**

**June 20th, 17:51 CDT**

Nightwing crouches down, bracing his gloved hand on the crumbling concrete rooftop of the abandoned apartment building. Through his thermal lens, he can make out two bright spots of heat in the topmost apartment below them. Jason is a bright spot reclining on a couch in the living room area but he can’t identify the smaller spot. It’s laying in a nearby room, big enough to be notable but too small and too still to be much of a threat. Nightwing turns the thermal off and nods to Robin who flicks his wrist computer down and nods back. The coast is clear.

The two crash through the kitchen windows, showering glass across the wooden floor and into the carpeted living room. The form on the couch leaps over the back with a sword already clutched tightly in his hand. Nightwing hears Robin’s breath catch in his throat and he knows that this isn’t another nightmare conjured up by his addled and aching brain. Jason had been just fifteen when the Joker had killed him. The man standing in front of them looks closer to seventeen or eighteen but it’s undoubtedly Jason; Jason who still looks like a scared little kid even as his icy eyes narrow. There’s a tremble in his hard set jaw and fear behind the glare in his eyes but he’d always been good at hiding it, at pretending he didn’t know the meaning of the word fear.

“Put down the sword Jason. We just want to talk.” Nightwing says, falling back into the strong, steady voice he hasn’t used since he’d had a team to lead. He hopes it will help, that they’ll be able to avoid a fight just this once because he still feels unsteady on his feet and his stomach is still tender.

“That’s not my name,” The ninja with the boy’s face sneers. “You’re not with the League so I’m going to give you just one chance to leave.”

“What is your name then?” Nightwing aims again for diplomacy, wavering between shaky and steady as he lifts his escrima sticks to his shoulders.

“I don’t have one.”

“Well you look a hell of a lot like Jason Todd,” Robin says, tightening his grip on his bo-staff. “What did you take from the League?”

Jason’s face drops into a heavy scowl and with a growl he lunges for Robin who just manages to avoid the arc of the blade but it catches his staff, sending it clattering across the kitchen floor. Nightwing is already there, slamming a stick into the side of the ninja’s head only to have the breath knocked out of him when the butt of the katana strikes his stomach. He sucks in a sharp breath. He’s off his game but luckily he’s not alone. Nightwing catches the blade on his bracer and takes another swing at Jason’s ribs. He growls and grabs the weapon in his gloved hand, wrenching it away from the older vigilante before slamming the tip directly into his sternum. The padded armor protects him but the wind is knocked from him again before Robin swooping in. He knocks the legs out from under Jason and their eyes meet through the domino masks. Robin glances at the open bedroom door and nods.

Nightwing is off, flipping over the couch and ducking into the room. When he locks the door, he hears Robin cry out but he knows how to handle himself. Nightwing has to trust in that because Robin trusts in him to find Talia’s treasure.

The nest of blankets on the bed looks nearly identical to the one he’d found in the exploding warehouse with more fast food containers than he can count and several scattered water bottles, some of which look more like they’d had milk in them rather than water. He wrinkles his nose and swallows heavily to calm his rolling stomach.

He digs through the nest as he hears a metallic clang and another cry before there’s pounding at the door and a sword that stabs through the old softened wood. He’s running out of time and starts throwing blankets aside, ripping into the twisted mass. He finds a few knives of various sizes, a nearly empty container of sword polish, an old sock, and a small fluffy blanket. Nothing important enough for Talia to go to the lengths she was prepared to go to. It’s all junk and he’s running out of time.

The sword stabs through the wood again and Nightwing sees the fluffy blanket move and shift, just once but it’s enough. He throws it aside to uncover Talia’s little ‘treasure’ and his stomach plummets.

**Central City**

**June 20th, 18:30 EDT**

Nestled against the pillows is a baby with warm tanned skin, a stock of fluffy black hair and rich green eyes that screw shut as the baby’s face scrunches up before it lets out a very loud cry. Their lungs are powerful, screaming louder than Nightwing has ever heard a baby scream. He barely even hears the crack of the door giving away over the cries. The vigilante leaps forward, scooping up the child in his arms and using his escrima stick to shield them from the figure looming in the doorway.

“Don’t hurt him.” Jason’s voice is small and scared, completely at odds with his strong stance and the blood tipped sword gripped tightly in his glove hand. His whole body looks like it’s trembling and he keeps shooting glance at the tiny baby whose cries have devolved into helpless gasping whimpers. Still he stands his ground.

“I don’t plan to but I want you to put the sword down and let me get to Robin.”

Jason shoots one last look at the child and tightens up his stance as though considering his options before his katana clatters to the wooden floor. He steps away and crosses his arms over his chest. “He’s fine. I barely touched him.”

With that quip, he can almost hear the old Jason, the young insolent boy who was angry at the world and thought he had everything to prove, and despite the situation, it feels good. If Jason could come back to life before his eyes then wasn’t there hope for Wally? He breathes even easier when he sees Robin. The boy is leaning against the arm of the ratty old couch, breathing heavily with blood dripping from his arm and hand but at a second glance his wounds are superficial. The sword had cut through the thin material inside his right arm, against his hip and just above his belly-button but he’s okay.

“Is that a baby?” Robin asks incredulously, his eyes visibly widening even behind the mask. “Did we get sent to find a baby?! What would the League even want with it?”

“They want to use him as a weapon. You can’t take him back to them.” Jason grabs Nightwing’s arm, pulling him forward where he can see his pleading eyes. Jason is panicking but trying to save face and keep his voice steady. “Nobody deserves that.”

Robin wrenches Jason’s arms behind his back and tip ties his wrists together with a huff. He knocks Jason to his knees with a well placed kick. “I’m going to call B to help me get Jason back to the cave. You should get the baby there first.”

Robin pauses, looking up at Nightwing’s face before glancing down at the baby who is making little chirping noises. “You are going to take him to B right? Not Talia?”

“Of course.” Dick gives him a small false smile while his stomach clenches.

**Central City**

**June 20th, 19:27 EDT**

Dick watches the clouds drift lazily over the full moon as he walks down the long pier towards the small boat waiting for him in the inky waters. The night feels too quiet after the constant noise and confusion of the last week and Dick is left with only the gentle lapping of the waves and the thump of his boots against the thick wood as a backing track to his thoughts. The baby had fallen asleep on the trip snuggled tight against his body to protect him from the lingering night time chill. The boy is younger than Mary but not by much and everything about him reminds Dick of her. Guilt chokes him but he pushes it down because if he lets it overwhelm him then he won’t be able to hand the child over.

He can’t stop now when just one child is all that’s left standing between him and bringing Wally back. All he has to do is hand over this baby to the League and he can see the speedster again, to be able to bask in the warmth of his smile, here his soothing laugh again and just exist with him. If Dick can’t do this then he’s not sure how he’s going to survive because life without him, without Wally’s brightness, was not something he was sure he would survive and he hasn’t been able to exist a day since he lost him without being numbed to the point of unconsciousness. He won’t let one child that he’s never met before stop him now.

...But it was a child that Jason had been ready to die to protect. This baby was someone to Dick’s brother and without him, he may never have found out Jason was even alive but he can’t think of that now so his regret doesn’t drown him.

The boy yawns and blinks open his piercing green eyes as he grabs at Dick’s top. His little fingers pull at the edge of the Nightwing symbol as he sticks his tongue out and spits while grinning, a gummy smile that shows off his new front teeth. Dick takes in a shaky breath and forces his eyes to the horizon. He had to do this. He had to.

The baby giggles and grabs at Dick’s gloved hand to gum at his fingertips. He’s so innocent and ignorant to the world and it makes his heart clenched. This boy had his whole life ahead of him but that won’t happen if Dick goes through with this. He curses under his breath and knew he wasn’t going through with this. He couldn’t hand over an innocent child for the League to twist to their will and Wally would never forgive him if he put a child in danger for the sake of his life.

Tears gather in his eyes as he holds the baby closer and presses his nose into his dark fluff of hair. He sobs quietly, shaking to his very core and everything hurts.

“I’m sorry Wally,” Dick gasps into the night as he turns away from the water to begin to make the trek back to the nearest Zeta tubes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Woo another chapter down and the next chapter is the one I'm sure you guys have been waiting for... Wally's return! But it might take awhile before I get that one out cause I'm in the middle of moving and the amount I can write a day is going to be a bit limited. Plus chapter nine is going to be long. (I have chapter eight done but I don't post a chapter until the next one is done so I can stay motivated)
> 
> Comments are always appreciated!


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So... this chapter went places. Please note the change in rating and tags
> 
> PS I also have no clue how the speedforce works so please don't come for me

**Blüdhaven**

**June 20th, 20:12 EDT**

The apartment is dark and quiet as Dick makes his way into his kitchen to scrounge around for the balm for his troubles. With the baby sleeping on the couch. nestled between the back and a throw pillow, the adrenaline is beginning to fade, giving away to throbbing pain. The ache of his head and stomach is familiar but the pulsing of his wrist is new and when he finally rips away his gloves, he can see that it’s beginning to swell and darken where he’d caught the brunt of Jason’s sword. He grabs a cold compress and pain meds, sighing in relief at the first slide of a cold water down his throat to chase the pills down. He eyes the beer where it sits on his bottom shelf but closes the fridge door.

Dick’s phone buzzes twice where it’s laying on the counter and he sighs, pressing the cold compress to his wrist before picking up the phone as it buzzes again. New messages from his friends and old teammates are waiting for him and he promises himself that one day soon he’ll read them but tonight he needs a reprieve; he can handle the anger, disappointment, and even blame but pity still feels like acid burning him from the inside out.

**Kaldur (5)**

**Supesboy (3)**

**Arty (3)**

**Miz Mars (17)**

**Timmers (2)**

**B (1)**

He groans and tosses his phone onto the coffee table before sinking into the plush cushions on the couch Wally had once helped him pick out after spending one too many nights on Dick’s original sofa that the speedster had equated to a cinder block. Everywhere he looks, he sees the remnants of his best friend’s touch: video games strewn across Dick’s entertainment center, the first Kid Flash action figure to come out that Wally had cackled at when he gave it to him, and even a sports jersey that Wally had lobbed on to the top of Dick’s bookcase after a rowdy game night. He closes his eyes and tips his head back to stave off the tears. This is all that will ever be left of Wally in Dick’s life now.

Dick takes a hard swallow before looking down at the child whose life he’d chosen over the man he’d been in love with for as long as he could remember. He was still sleeping soundly with a tiny fist curled around the throw pillow and drool already collecting under his cheek. Dick smiles softly before wiping away the slobber with the corner of the baby’s blanket. He would need food soon so Dick will need to take him back to the Manor but for now he needs the quiet, the calm, the steady fuzziness of a painkiller induced sleep.

His phone buzzes twice more and he thinks about ignoring it, avoiding whatever Bruce and Tim might have to say but instead he swallows down his bitter guilt and shame with his next swallow of water that he wishes was something stronger and picks up the phone.

**Timmers: Where are you?**

**Timmers: Jason got away and Bruce is losing his shit.**

**Timmers: Please tell me you didn’t give that baby to the league**

**Dick: The baby is safe with me. I need a break but I’ll be back at the manor in the morning.**

Bruce’s texts are more direct and clipped but like Tim’s he can feel the worry and disapproval. He knows he’s in no place to judge and hasn’t earned their trust but it still stings.

**B: Where are you?**

**B: Dick, this is not the time to go off grid. Come home.**

**Dick: I’m fine. I’ll be back in the morning.**

He keeps it short and sweet, enough to get them to back off for the night but not enough for them to come looking for him and tosses his phone back onto the coffee table. The next drink almost soothes at the ache in his heart and he groans, laying across the couch and closing his eyes against the new onslaught of tears that gather in his eyes and spill down his cheeks.

**???** **  
** **???,???,???**

Dick sighs, lavishing in the soft blankets as he stretches with his eyes closed tight against the rays of the morning sun spilling into the room. A warm, solid weight presses against his front as long gentle fingers trace over the bare skin of his hip, making him shiver.

“Hey sleepyhead,” A man’s sleep rough voice chuckles as Dick manages to crack his eyes open. Wally smiles, as warm and soft and bright as the sun illuminating him like a halo and Dick’s heart is a drumbeat against his ribs. He traces nonsense symbols into Dick’s hip as he bites his bottom lip, heat in his eyes and whispers, “Someone had a long night.”

“And whose fault is that?,” Dick laughs cheekily against Wally’s lips. He trails a hand down the speedster’s bare chest, drawing constellations between his freckles as he makes his way down to where the blanket is pooled at their hips. He rakes his fingers down the sparse line of hair leading down to the delicious cut of his hips.

“Guilty as charged,” Wally groans into Dick’s mouth, reaching up to tangle his long graceful fingers into Dick’s hair and  _ pull. _

Dick gasps and whimpers as Wally kisses him deep and rough. His tongue is hot like a brand as it dips into his mouth, teasing him until Dick sinks into it, giving it as good as he gets. He moans and digs his fingernails into Wally’s muscled back, pulling him over so he can wrap strong legs around the speedster’s slim hips. Wally’s hands seem to be everywhere at once and it’s intoxicating; hands skim over his nipples to pull another gasp from him, fingers tug his hair and nails rake down his sides and grab his ass to pull him into a delicious rolling grind that leaves Dick gasping for air. Wally’s  _ hard _ , leaking against his thigh and Dick has to bit his lip against a deep moan.

“Oh god… Wallyyyy,” Dick whimpers, his hips bucking up to get the delicious friction of Wally’s hot cock sliding against his own wetness, deep, dirty and so so good. He gasps and bucks when Wally’s hand dips between their bodies, stroking Dick’s cokc slowly and oh so teasingly. It’s too much and yet not enough.

He pulls at Wally’s red curls to make his pretty reddened mouth fall open on a deep groan that Dick swallows into his kiss. It’s more panting breaths and moans but it’s everything that Dick’s ever wanted. He nearly screams when the redhead’s hand starts to  _ vibrate. _

“Wallyyyy,” Dick does scream as his vision whites out, spilling wet across the speedster’s hand. As his vision returns, he watches enraptured as Wally’s hand jacks himself off, nearly to fast for the younger man to see before he’s spilling hot over Dick’s toned stomach and collapsing to the bed beside him.

As Dick catches his breath, basking in the wonderful afterglow, Wally chuckles and kisses Dick before hopping up. “I’ll get something to clean us up babe.”

“No!,” Panic sweeps through Dick as reality sets in. Something isn’t right here. Wally’s not supposed to be here and he doesn’t know why or what’s going on but something deep down tells him that if he lets Wally walk through that door then he will never see him again. He stumbles onto weak and shaky legs to catch Wally’s arm. He can’t let this end. He can’t lose this feeling of happiness and safety that he’s been craving.

“Dick, are you okay?” Wally’s eyebrows knit together and he grabs Dick’s shoulders.

“You can’t leave. Please. I can’t lose you again. I thought I could let go but… I love you.” Dick gasps as the room around him, so similar to his own apartment room but so subtly wrong begins to fade away. Wally stiffens in his arms before pulling him into a tight hug.

“I’m sorry Dick but I can’t give you what you need right now and you know that.” Wally whispers into his ear, a cruel echo to the moments before but this Wally seems like an entirely different person. “You have to let me go.”

Dick tightens his hands into Wally’s hair and feels the tears rolling down his cheeks. His hands drop onto the speedster’s shoulders, the only thing Dick feels like he can ground himself with right now.

“Dick. You have to let me go. You have to move on. You’re ready. I know you are because you’re the strongest person I’ve ever known.” Wally breathes against Dick’s temples.

_ No I’m not. _ Dick wants to scream it at the heavens but he can’t keep going like this because this is getting him nowhere. With shaking hands, he releases Wally who smiles so soft and sad as he steps away. “I’m sorry Wally but I’m not giving up on you just yet. I’ve loved you for too long and I refuse to believe that after everything I’ve seen you’re really dead but...I’m not going to do it alone anymore.”

“Dick,” Wally breathes softly at the force behind Dick’s words. His smile widens even as his body seems to waver, becoming less and less tangible. Before he disappears, he grabs Dick’s hand. “I’m sor-”

His words are drowned out by a piercing scream.

**Blüdhaven**

**June 20th, 22:37 EDT**

Dick jerks awake, kicking his coffee table as he scrambles to his feet. Three shadowy faceless figures stand near his opened window: two on the fire escape and one perched on the window sill with the screaming baby in its arms. He lunges for the closest weapon, hefting the floor lamp like a staff as indignant anger at the situation rises in him. “Let him go!”

“He is safe,” The figure on the window sill says. The moonlight catches the side of her face as she hands the child off to one of the others. Talia al Ghul smiles at him and Dick is struck by just how genuine it appears to be. The daughter of the League of Shadows seems to be actually happy and it makes Dick feel tense, his skin crawling with anticipation as she drops down into the room. “Thank you for saving my son.”

Dick tightens his grip on the lamp and glares as she crosses her arms while leaning against the window. He thinks that she meant for her words to be shocking, to shake Dick and throw him off his game, but how could the boy have been anyone else. He was the spitting image of Talia in every way except his stock of black hair.

“You have returned my treasure so I will keep my word and return yours. Ask the Flash or the kid Flash about the speedforce and you may find that your beloved is far from dead.” Talia leaps back onto the windowsill but pauses with one foot resting on the fire escape. Her face is somber when she looks back at him, serious and dark. “I know you owe me no favors but when the time comes please protect Damian.”

With those soft words, she’s gone, leaving Dick floundering in the aftermath. He feels shaky, the world spinning under his feet. It's a lot to process at once but one thing sticks out among it all; he could bring Wally back.

The voice that answers him over the phone is slow and sleep rough but Dick speaks over him, faster than he’s ever spoken before because he’s so close, so close to seeing Wally again. “Tell me everything you know about the speedforce.”

**North Magnetic Pole**

**June 21st, 09:10 UTC**

“I want you to be prepared,” Bart says as he steps up to Dick’s side while Jaime is fetching the last of the medical supplies from the helicopter Dick had ‘borrowed’ from Bruce. “This might not work. There’s a chance I won’t get up to the speed I need. He might not be there or he might be dead in there.”

“Just trying is better than nothing,” Dick says with a shaky breath. It still feels surreal that he’s even this close. “He deserves that much.”

Jaime drops the last box into the snow next to them and Bart’s mask slides back into place with a grin. The speedster reaches up to pull his new Kid Flash goggles over his eyes and dashes ahead a few feet.

“Ready to go her-man-o?”

Jaime gives him a thumbs up and slides his face plate back into place against the snow Bart kicks up as he shifts from foot to foot, shaking out his arms and legs. Then he’s off, a blur or red and yellow that Dick can barely keep track of. He races across the snow, kicking up a storm behind him but nothing seems any different. For achingly long minutes everything seems normal and Dick’s heart sinks. They’d come this far and they were going to trip at the finish line.

There’s a loud crash and lightning strikes the ground near Bart and when the snowy dust clears, the speedster is gone. He’d managed to get into the speedforce and now all they can do is wait…  


and wait… 

and wait.

The minutes stretch on forever and when Jaime’s gloved hand curls around his shoulder, Dick realizes he’s on the verge of hyperventilating. He takes a deep breath, his heart in his throat as he watches for any change in the landscape. It’s just snow and ice as far as he can see. A white wasteland stretching on forever.

In the next moment, the world seems to split open, ground shaking and lighting shooting off from a glowing gash that slashes the air from the ground up. The gash flashes once then twice before Bart is stumbling through. Another figure in ripped red and yellow clings to him like a lifeline. A figure who has fiery red curls and pale skin that's marred by a giant red burn that spreads like ink across his back.

Dick gasps, stepping forward like a puppet being pulled by its strings. A sob tears its way from his throat and he feels whole again before the two figures collapse into the snow.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was a nightmare to write but I'm glad to finally have it posted! The next chapter might be the last or I might add an epilogue but either way we're in the home stretch! It will be a bit before I can update though because I'm still moving ahhhhh
> 
> Comments are very appreciated!


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Just a couple moments as Wally and Dick pick up the pieces

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning: This chapter is unedited unlike the others. With moving and everything else going on, I'm way to stressed to keep up with motivation for this story. Plus I haven't been super happy with this fic and mostly used it as a way to get back into fic writing so I'm mostly just wanting to move on to other stories.

**Central City**

**June 23nd, 10:18 CDT**

Dick sighs and leans back against the white wall in the long hallway. He can hear the beeping of many machines behind other doors and smell the strong cleaner. Mary however seems unfazed, sitting up in his lap and giggling at every doctor or nurse that walks by. He can hear muffled conversation behind the door next to him but can’t make out the words, doesn’t want to even if he’s anxious for the outcome. He knows what is going to be. He’s reunited Wally with the love of his life. Dick knows how that’s going to play out.

The conversation stops just before the door opens and Artemis walks out. Her face is a bit pink but otherwise she looks completely normal as she settles into the hard plastic chair next to Dick.

“Wally and I aren’t getting back together,” She says as she rests her elbows on her knees. “We’ve- I’ve changed too much. I’ve moved on and I’ll always love him but it wouldn’t be the same now. He doesn’t deserve that.”

“I- I don’t know what to say, Arty.”

“You don’t have to say anything. Just be his shoulder to cry on.” Artemis says as she rises to her feet, pulling him into a tight hug as he makes his way to the door. “Thank you for bringing him home. I’d lost hope.”

“I had too,” Dick admits, sinking into her hug as he hefts Mary higher on his hip.

Artemis smiles as she pulls back. “As soon as Wally’s out of this place, I’m making you two come over for dinner. You need to finally meet Lian.”

“Sounds great,” Dick grins.

Artemis waves as she walks down the hallway towards the elevator and Dick finally makes his way into the room. Wally is resting against a huge mound of pillows. His face is red and Dick can see the edge of the bandages that cover the large burn that covers his back, the only scar that he has from the ordeal but he’s healing. His eyes are bloodshot and his face is red but he lights up when he sees Dick and even more when he sees Mary.

“Is this who I’ve heard so much about?” Wally grins at Mary as hold his arms out.

“Are you sure she won’t hurt you?” Dick says as he hefts his daughter higher on his hip.

“I’m Kid Flash!... Or at least I was. A baby isn’t going to take me down.” He grins and holds out his arms again. Dick smiles and hands his daughter off who babbles at the speedster, reaching out her hands to grab at his nose and curls while giggling. “Well hello Mary. God Dick I still can’t believe you're a dad. What else happened while I was gone?”

“Honestly a lot. Do you want the cliffnotes?” Dick chuckles as he leans back into the hard plastic chair by the bed. He feels lighter than he has in years and his heart jumps every time Wally grins or laughs. He still can’t believe that this is happening, still sometimes feels like he’s walking in a dream.

“Yeah. Fill me in.”

Wally listens as Dick recounts every important thing that he knows, which he sadly realizes is not much. He tells him about Don and Dawn being born and already showing some signs of superpowers, Bart moving in with his best friend, Babs getting hurt by the Joker and Jason being back.

“Jason is back? Wow and I thought I was the only miracle.” Wally jokes but Dick knows he’s thrown off by this and is trying to adjust to all this new information. “How are Kaldur, M’gann and Conner doing?”

“I-” Dick sighs and rubs at his temples. “I don’t actually know. When you-.” Dick chokes on the words but pushes through. “When you disappeared, I fell apart. I couldn’t stay with the team and I let things go.”

“Well at least you’re back now right?” Wally asked with a soft smile as he took Dick’s hand, lacing their fingers together over Mary’s knee.

“Yeah Walls. I am.”

- - - - - - -

  
  


**Miz Mars: I’m glad you’re doing better :)**

**Miz Mars: It’ll be good to have you back!**

**Dick: I’m not coming back just yet but I’m not going dark anymore**

**Dick: I should never have let things get that far and for that I’m sorry**

**Miz Mars: All that matters is that you’re doing better now :D We’re all here for you and Wally but I need to meet Mary!**

**Dick: You guys will get to meet her soon. I just want to get everything set with the new apartment and get her into a routine now that she’s living with me**

**Miz Mars: Don’t keep her away too long!**

**Miz Mars: Just know that we really have missed you and we’re all glad to have you back. You and Wally are both welcome with us at any time :)**

**Dick: Thanks I promise I’m not going anywhere this time**

**Dick: I miss you guys too**

- - - - - - -

**Blüdhaven**

**July 4th, 21:32 EDT**

“Mary down for the night?” Wally grins up at him as he lounges back against the rough brick of the roof.

“Yeah and the room is as insulated as possible. I need a break.” Dick huffs as he slumps down next to Wally, handing the speedster a coke as he cracks his own soda open. “Your back okay?”

“Yeah dude. I’m fine. I don’t need you, Arty, mom, Uncle Barry and Aunt Iris all worrying about me. I’m not going anywhere.”

“What can I say, you’re well loved.” He bumps his shoulder against Wally’s, careful to not hurt his still healing burn that stretches across his entire back. Wally tries to hide if but Dick knows it still hurts him. He remembers how much physical therapy Wally was supposed to have but his speedster healing had made most of it unnecessary but he’s still picking up the pieces.

Wally huffs and slumps back to stare up at the sky as the first firework shoots into the sky. It illuminates Wally’s face, casting light across his eyes that make them sparkle and Dick’s breath catches in his throat. He knows he’s going to ask in that moment, voicing the thought that’s been bouncing around in his head for as long as Wally’s been out of the hospital.

“Do you want to move in?”

Wally’s head snaps to Dick, his mouth hanging open. “Where is this coming from?”

“Well I just figured you might like somewhere to stay that’s not Barry’s couch. Plus with all the Nightwing stuff, I could use help with Mary and I can help you fast track the paperwork to prove your still alive and-” Dick’s babbling, he knows he is but he can’t stop as Wally keeps staring at him slack jawed. “And I should tell you that I’m kind of in love with you and I can’t imagine not living with you again.”

Silence settles between them with both of them flushing red. “Wow… that’s a lot.”

“Yeah sorry. I just… I needed you to know but I don’t expect anything. I promise I won’t like jump you if you move in.”

Wally bites his bottom lip, looking out as more fireworks go out before saying. “Okay.”

“Okay? That’s all?” Dick can’t keep watching him and stares down at his soda can like it holds the answers to the universe.

“Yeah,” Wally says as he reaches over and grabs Dick’s hand. “I’m not ready now but I love you too.”

Dick’s eyes widen and he finds himself flushing under Wally’s heavy gaze and soft smile.

“Besides Uncle Barry’s couch sucks.”

It’s ridiculous but Dick finds himself laughing as Wally does. They collapse to the rooftop illuminated by fireworks as they giggle. It feels like being kids again and Dick wouldn’t trade it for the world. He squeezes Wally’s fingers tighter.

- - - - - - -

**Kaldur: It is nice to see you back with us.**

**Dick: It’s nice to be back**

- - - - - - -

**Supesboy: I know I’m not one for talking about feelings but this team wasn’t the same without you**

**Dick: Luckily I’m not going anywhere anytime soon. I’m happy to be back.**

- - - - - - -

**Arty: Can you and Wally babysit Lian? Will is working late and I have a mission.**

**Dick: Sure. Just drop her off with Walls**

- - - - - - -

**Blüdhaven**

**September 2nd, 22:59 EDT**

Dick sighs as he slides off his Nightwing gloves and tosses his domino mask to the countertop before making his way into the living room. Despite the late time, Wally is awake. He’s settled on the couch with a bouncy kids movie playing as Mary and Lian are passed out pillowed against his chest.

Wally smiles up at him as he walks into the living room and Dick’s breath catches. Living with Wally West has both been a blessing and a curse. Dick couldn’t even count the amount of times he’d had to jerk off out of sheer frustration over living with the object of his affections. It was so hard though when it seemed at times that Wally was teasing him: walking out of the bathroom with just a towel wrapped around his trim waist, sparring in the living room with Dick shirtless, or worst of all, just being himself with his large grins and soft heart. 

“How’d patrol go?” Wally whisper-yells over the song playing on the tv as he rubs Mary’s slow rising back. 

“We still haven’t found Jason and dead criminals are still piling up but that actually has been making things easier. Tim’s beginning to think that maybe we shouldn’t look a gift horse in the mouth.” Dick huffs as he plops down on the couch next to Wally and the girls, lifting the speedster’s legs and pulling them across his own lap.

“I mean I hate to agree with him but I’m not about to cry over Gotham’s underbelly turning up dead.” Wally grabbed the tv remote and clicked the movie off, bathing them both in darkness and silence outside of the soft breaths of the little girls.

“I just wish we knew who was doing it.”

“With your resources, I’m sure all of you will know in less than a month. Help me with the girls? Arty is supposed to be coming by in the morning around ten for Lian but I figured we could have her bunk with Mary.”

Dick nods even though he knows that Wally can’t see him and reaches out for the closet girl. It’s Lian who nestles into his chest the moment he lifts her up and begins to make his way down the hallway into Mary’s room. Wally settles Mary down next to Lian in the small bed with a smile that the moonlight filtering through the window catches. The soft look on Wally’s face as he smooths dark curls away from his daughter’s face hits Dick to his core. He’s only been living with them for such a short time but he already loves Mary like his own and it cuts Dick deep. He loves this man so so much.

The second they close the door as quietly as possible, Dick is on him, backing him into the Wally and kissing him, rough and deep. He pours his love into each movement of his lips, a love that’s echoed in the way Wally gasps and kisses back. Their tongues tangle and Dick can’t breathe. Reality is so much better than anything he’d imagined and too soon Wally is pulling away.

“I’m sorry,” Dick breathes heavily against Wally’s shoulder as he pulls him close. “I promised I wouldn’t do this to you. It won’t happen again.”

“What if I wanted it to?” Wally’s voice is light, almost teasing as he wraps his arms around Dick’s midsection and hugs him tightly. “I said I needed time… and you’ve given me that.”

“Do you mean?” Dick can’t even finish his thought, too overwhelmed by the idea that Wally is here and wants him as much as he wants Wally.

“Want to go on a date with me?” Wally presses a smile into Dick’s temple.

“Of course I do you dork.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for those of you that stuck this out!! I had actually planned more originally but figured this was the best place to stop since I've lost motivation. I'm considering writing another future au fic that will use some of the ideas from this fic both the used and unused so maybe look forward to that if you liked this!
> 
> Comments are always appriecated!


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